Intel N00b, Help Please!

[xuwen]

Hi guys, sorry, I guess I'm from the Athlon camp (although I used to be with Intel when their solutions were cooler :P), but I've got sort of an interesting problem. I sort of brought it on myself, but hey, that's what overclockers do.

So last year, I bought myself a Dell Inspiron 1000. Don't ask, it was $550 at the time with 512 MB of memory (133). I've never really cared a whole lot about this rig (except for when I use it as a dedicated CS:Source server), but recently, I got myself speedfan and CPU-Z, since I've noticed that the machine gets pretty hot.

Well, SpeedFan indicates that right now (on Idle), I am hitting 54C. I am really, really scared about running Prime95 so I haven't yet. CPU-Z reports that I have a:

Name: Intel Mobile Celeron
Codename: Northwood
Brand ID: 15
Package: mPGA-478B
Technology: 0.13 micron

Specification: Mobile Intel (R) Celeron (R) CPU 2.20 GHz
Family: F
Model: 2
Stepping: 9
Revision: D1

It also shows that I'm running at 22x99.6 = 2191.0 MHz, and my Bus Speed = 398.4. Also, CPU-Z can't seem to figure out my voltage setting, but I'd assume that it'd be around that of a desktop celeron (meaning...i have no idea).

First of all, wow, a multiplier of 22? Is that normal? Secondly, are there any software utilities that will let me underclock this sucker? I would rather have it run at a consistent lower speed than slowing down over time and burning itself alive.

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Know Nuttin]

yes, that's normal, since it uses a 400 FSB (100, quad pumped).

[xuwen]

Thanks. So any suggestions on how I can get this thing to slow down a bit (although god knows that I don't need this damn machine to run any slower).

[JLK03F150]

There are several apps at Major Geeks to slow your processor for playing older games. I haven't tried any of them so I can't tell you if they'll work on your Dell.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads14.html

[batboy]

The real problem here is you need a little better cooling. You should pop the case open and check out the innards for dust build up, especially around the heatsinks and fans. Clean it all up. I would also pull the CPU cooler off, clean the old thermal tape gunk off with alcohol and reinstall it with some good thermal paste. This should bring your temps back to normal without sacrificing any performance.

[ropey]

:welcome: to the forums :)

I also think that you would be well served to clean your system of any/all dust. Install a secondary case fan (if one is not present), remove the heat sink/fan unit, remove all dust, remove the thermal pad and apply some good thermal paste (such as Arctic Silver 5+) on both the underside of the heat sink and a rice sized piece in the (now clean) center of the Intel Heat Spreader (the large metal cover).

The Dell Units often do not have extra case fans installed in their system so that is an important factor.

R

[JLK03F150]

batboy & ropey,
I'm fairly sure the Inspiron 1000 is a laptop. I thought laptops were rather difficult to open up.

[ropey]

Ah, yes, that would make sense, thanks for the heads up. :)

The thermal output of a notebook will always be higher than a desktop and such an output as 54C is more in line with a notebook.

Personally I always open my notebooks up and remove the heat displacement assembly, clean the thermal pads off and install thermal paste. I don't really think they are all that difficult although they are more difficult than the standard ATX system.

R

[xuwen]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I opened it up and dug up an old tupe os AS5 and reinstalled the tiny heatsink. My temps dropped a little, but I'm still really worried about this notebook. As things are going, I'm thinking I may end up just selling this and dishing out another 100 or so to get the Acer Smepron notebook on Acer. Nothing against Pentium M's, but they're just too expensive.